CHOC Names Award-Winning Design Team For Palm Springs Affordable Housing Development

Photo: Interactive Design Corporation. Visit IDC Palm Springs.

FOR RELEASE OCTOBER 17, 2018

Interactive Design Corporation Named Architects for Affordable Housing Complex

(PALM SPRINGS, CA) – Community Housing Opportunities Corporation (CHOC) has selected Interactive Design Corporation (IDC) to design a multi-family, affordable housing project at East San Rafael Drive and North Indian Canyon Drive in the Upper West Neighborhood of Palm Springs. IDC is an award-winning, Palm Springs architectural firm whose projects include the Desert AIDS Project Expansion, the Agua Caliente Tribal Building, the Palm Springs Art Museum in Palm Desert, and the Palm Springs Skate Park Concession Building and more than 15 affordable housing projects.

Maria Song (AIA) and Reuel Young (AIA) are principals of IDC, founded by Mr. Young in 1980 in Palm Springs. “We design everything from custom homes to public museums,” says Mr. Young. “And our custom home clients are always appreciative and it means a lot to us that they are.  But when residents for an affordable housing apartment move in, this is the best place they’ve ever had, it truly transforms their lives.  We want to be a part of that, to help with that transformation.” Mr. Young’s first affordable housing project in Palm Springs was Coyote Run at San Rafael and Sunrise which won a NAHB (National Association of Home Builders) award. Ms. Song, who chairs the Palm Springs Architectural Advisory Committee and will recuse herself from any vote on the CHOC project, says that her parents immigrated twice from Korea, where she was born. “We went from Korea to Argentina,” she says.  “Then we came to the United States, Los Angeles in the summer of 1984, the same time as the Olympics. My parents always wanted to give us a better life to secure our future. It didn’t take me long to realize not everyone has the same opportunities I had.   The single best way to help people find their equilibrium is to assure their housing, that’s the platform to success.  That’s why I want to be a part of this.”

Both Ms. Song and Mr. Young live in the neighborhood next to where the project is slated to be built and are quite familiar with the area and appreciate its social and economic diversity.  “We are committed to providing stable, safe, and livable housing to families in the communities where they work,” says Mr. Young. IDC’s commitment to social causes was also a factor in their selection, says Vince Nicholas, CHOC VP for Real Estate Development.  “We know about their award-winning designs, their knowledge of and history in Palm Springs will richly inform what we want to do with the new project.  But having design partners who understand why we build affordable housing insures CHOC’s commitment to insuring families have the room to thrive.” CHOC - a non-profit, multifamily affordable housing developer headquartered in Fairfield, California - was selected by the City of Palm Springs from a request for proposals. CHOC’s proposal is to build affordable housing that would meet the city’s affordable housing goals. The project is now in the early stages of development, going through an extended process that will take months before any work begins.  The process includes the design phase, financing, input from City Hall administrators and staff and continued community meetings.

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CHOC, a non-profit, affordable housing developer, works to create equitable communities for individuals, families, seniors and for those with special needs.  CHOC believes that affordable housing is key to self-sufficiency and is achievable with enriching, supportive programs that give pride to residents, stabilize families and improve local economies.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:    Sydney Weisman:  323.804.3102